PPR: Why vaccination is only way out

Dear Daktari,

I understand that the government is currently carrying out a vaccination campaign against PPR (Peste des Petits Ruminants) and foot and mouth diseases. As a farmer who keeps a few indigenous cows, I am concerned about the safety of my animals. But while I know about foot and mouth disease, I am not familiar with PPR. Why should I have my animals vaccinated considering the raging debate about the safety of the government-administered vaccines?

Michael Wechuli,

Kanduyi, Bungoma

Dear Michael, thank you so much for your question, which I believe is a concern shared by many other farmers.

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First of all, vaccination is a very important intervention in animal health, especially in disease prevention. There are many diseases against which vaccines have been developed. The administration of vaccines makes an animal immune to diseases in its environment. Vaccines are biological preparations made from various disease-causing micro-organisms. In other words, they are weakened forms of these micro-organisms that stimulate the body to produce antibiotics that are part of the immune system that then keep diseases at bay.

Among the benefits of vaccination is that it is a cost-effective way of preventing diseases, giving credence to the saying prevention is better than cure. Most vaccines are relatively affordable and cannot compare to the loss of the animal through death or subsequent cost of veterinary interventions.

Countries will strive to vaccinate their animals with the end goal of eradicating diseases so that they can access international livestock and livestock products. There are many trade-limiting diseases whose presence can “quarantine” a country from trading in the international markets as a measure to prevent the transboundary spread of diseases. The globe has so far managed to eradicate only one livestock disease called rinderpest. The eradication of rinderpest was done through strategic large-scale vaccination of animals.

What is PPR?

Peste des Petits Ruminants, abbreviated PPR, is one of the diseases that is a candidate for eradication because it shares a lot with rinderpest.

PPR is a killer viral disease of animals, which is quickly spreading through the globe, hence the great attention currently focused on its control and subsequent eradication. PPR can kill an entire herd of goats or sheep in an outbreak. Kenya has taken early steps to prevent the occurrence of the disease.

It is transmitted through close contact with the secretions and excretions/body fluids of an infected animal. Herds in confinement are thus at great risk of infection. Farm workers can also spread the disease to other farms or animals.

The acute form of the disease will kill an animal within a week. High temperature, dry muzzle, a dull haircoat, diarrhoea, dehydration, coughing, excess tears and crusting of eyes, loss of appetite and abortion, are among the commonest clinical signs of the disease. Outbreaks can kill between 80 and 100 per cent of the herd. The disease can easily leave a farmer without a single animal after an outbreak, yet it is a vaccine-preventable disease. 

We can contribute to this goal by getting our animals vaccinated.

[Dr Othieno is a veterinary surgeon and currently the head of communications at the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations (FAO) Kenya. The views expressed here do not necessarily represent those of FAO]